麻豆约拍

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rabbi Warren Elf

Good morning.

Tonight is Kol Nidrei, the evening at the start of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Jews around the world will be attending the services that start our 25 hour fast and these will start with the prayer called Kol Nidrei, all vows.

We ask God to absolve us from all the vows and obligations we make to God in vain from this Yom Kippur to the next. We ask to be forgiven and released from our own failings and that God does not hold us to them.

The promises to our fellow human beings stand, but we ask for those between us and God to be forgiven. It sounds a bit like we are asking God for a get out of jail free card.

I think it is about the resolutions we make to be better people, to strive to live up to God鈥檚 teachings laid out in Torah. And we recognise that we are not always going to maintain those standards.

We are human and not perfect, and we think, maybe know, that God is and we hope that God understands that.

We know that whatever we decide this year and however sincerely we resolve to make changes and be better and do things differently, we are bound to screw up at some point during the year.

So I wonder if we are really asking God not to hold us to these vows and promises or whether we are recognising our limitations. We may try as sincerely as possible to make changes, improve and return to God. But we know we will be back next year doing it all over again, even if we do manage to keep most of our promises.

So, God, help us today and every day to be self-aware, to recognise and work to realise our potential, our ability to make a difference in this world. Help us to be the best we can be and honest in our dealings with others. With Your help, may we find the strength, insight and integrity to be true to You too.

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